A simulation of the battle between Miami (Ohio) and Colorado State in the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop in College Football 25. The Arizona Bowl is on Dec. 28 at Arizona Stadium. (Video by Justin Spears / Arizona Daily Star)
It was a memorable year for the Fina family in Tucson.
Former Arizona Wildcats and NFL offensive lineman John Fina saw his oldest son, Bruno, transfer to Duke after four seasons at UCLA. In September, the older Fina was named the "Legend of the Game" leading up to the Buffalo Bills' win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday Night Football.
Fina played in two straight Super Bowls with Buffalo to begin his NFL career in 1992-93 following a standout career at the UA, but the Bills lost each time to Dallas. Back at Orchard Park in September, Fina led the Bills' "Let's go, Buffalo" pregame chant with a PA microphone.
Just over two months later, Fina's youngest son, Roman, joined his older brother in Durham and signed with Duke's 2025 recruiting class.
"My heart will always be with the Arizona football team as a fan, but you gotta root for your kids. Their opportunity to go play for Duke is really a dream," said John Fina. "The school itself, the program that (head coach) Manny Diaz has put together, the offensive line coach who I respect and appreciate his coaching technique, it's a really good fit for both of those boys. They've got big brain pans and a place like Duke -- not to say Arizona doesn't have quality education -- is a good fit for my boys in particular."
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Roman Fina, an offensive tackle at Salpointe Catholic, garnered interest from Duke, the hometown Wildcats, Dartmouth and Pennsylvania, but signed with the Blue Devils, which recruited him before they targeted Bruno Fina in the transfer portal. Roman Fina, who has a 4.1 GPA, wants to study business at Duke, "but I'm not entirely sure yet," he said.
"They've been really about recruiting me throughout this last year," Fina said. "Duke has a great future and they're very good about how they treat their recruits."
With Bruno Fina still at Duke for one more season, being teammates with his brother "wasn't my top factor when deciding, because obviously I didn't want to go off of my brother, I wanted to go off of myself," said Roman Fina.
"But it was an important thing that I would be playing with my brother," he said. "He definitely was a factor because he was already at Duke."
Fina said he and his brother "were pretty good friends" growing up and the two bonded over "playing Legos" and "enacting scenarios growing up."
"It was a lot of fun. I loved it," Fina said. "We were always challenging each other. ... We were always competing and always having fun."
Having a father like John Fina, "it's been nice," Roman Fina said.
"He's been a supportive dad all my life," said Fina. "He has supported me in every sport that I played."
Fina's first love is baseball, and he spent most of his childhood playing pitcher, but he started playing football as a freshman at Salpointe, because "it's in the blood, and I have an advantage with my height."
"I wasn't expecting to play football and continue football after my freshman year, because I just wanted to try it because my dad played, my brother played and all of my uncles played," Fina said. "I decided to try it freshman year and I did and I loved it. I just kept it going. I still played baseball up through junior year, so I was able to play both sports I loved, which was nice."
John Fina, an assistant coach at Salpointe, said, "My greatest joy was working with him on the field and I'll miss that opportunity with both kids even though Bruno and I review film all the time."
Roman Fina grew into a 6-5, 260-pound offensive tackle and is striving to weigh in at 280 pounds before his freshman season at Duke. Fina's ultimate goal is to weigh 310 pounds by the end of his career. Building weight on a lengthy frame is what Bruno Fina had to do after signing with UCLA. He was 6-4, 240 pounds coming out of Salpointe in 2020; now, he's 6-5, 300 pounds.
"Roman followed a similar path to Bruno, where developmentally and physically, he wasn't ready to play varsity football as a sophomore. If you want to be recruited, you want to be recruited and sophomores get on film and get on the radar, but you can't throw a kid to the wolves," John Fina said. "Roman's recruitment wasn't as active as a lot of kids who were bigger and more polished. He didn't have 25 schools breaking down the door, but he had really solid technique. His technique, gosh, he was such a polished player. The portal situation, it makes it harder on kids who develop a little bit later."
Added Fina: "I showed Roman to a lot of coaches that I know and they kept saying, 'He's not a Group of 5 kid, that's a Power 4 kid.' Given the (transfer) portal and the fact that he was a little bit under the radar, he didn't get the Power 4 attention that I think he deserved. He was sort of left in limbo and was labeled a 'tweener while not being a 'tweener."
Duke was one of few schools to gamble on Fina's potential.
"When Duke started reaching out to me and we started having these conversations, it was just such a great fit because the school meets his academic needs, it's a school that's up-and-coming with an exciting coach, a guy that's been around with a lot of experience," John Fina said. "From Day 1, Roman was really excited."
Up next for Roman Fina: books and ball in Durham, North Carolina.
Get to know Roman Fina
Who is your favorite football player of all time?
A: "Aside from my dad, I'll have to go with (Buffalo Bills quarterback) Josh Allen."
What is your go-to postgame meal?
A: "Last year, I would go to Taco Bell because that's all that was open after games because it was late. But if I had my choice, I'd probably go to (Raising) Cane's after games. ... At Taco Bell, I would get the supreme potato soft tacos and two of the 'Doritos Locos' (tacos) with a Mountain Dew Baja Blast. At Cane's, I gotta go with a 'Caniac Combo,' no slaw and extra toast with a Dr. Pepper."
What is your favorite class at Salpointe Catholic?
A: "My engineering class because I've been in the engineering program for the last three years. It's a lot of fun because we get to work with our hands and figure out problems on our own. We don't really have to go to the teacher for guidance. We pretty much get free rein to figure out what's going on with our project."
What is your favorite sports memory?
A: "My favorite memory is probably being out on the baseball bump and striking out as many kids as I can. I always love baseball -- still do. But I also love football, so I'm not taking anything from that."
As an offensive lineman, which do you prefer, pass-blocking or run-blocking?
A: "I've always had a lot more fun in the pass because you get to play games with the defensive end and throw your hands up, drop them and maybe they swing when they're not supposed to and you get an easy strike on them. My answer would definitely be pass."
Contact Justin Spears, the Star's Arizona football beat reporter, at [email protected]. On X(Twitter): @JustinESports
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